Benedict Cumberbatch Visits LAMDA in Talgarth Road

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Meet students at his former drama college hoping to follow in his footsteps

Benedict Cumberbatch with the next generation at LAMDA

June 16, 2023

Benedict Cumberbatch visited his former college LAMDA in Hammersmith’s Talgarth Road on Wednesday June 14 to chat to groups of students who are hoping to follow in his acting footsteps.

The students had been taking part in this year’s Summer Season, which included five different plays across the college’s three theatres - Pains of Youth and The House That Will Not Stand in The Linbury Theatre, Light Falls and Woycek in The Carne Studio Theatre and The Suicide in The Sainsbury Theatre. The sold out season ran from June 7 till last night, June 15.

LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and it has been located at 155 Talgarth Road since 2003, when it took over The Royal Ballet School's former premises.

Since then the college, which describes itself as a world leading conservatoire offering exceptional vocational training to actors, directors and technicians, has developed the premises into a campus with state of the art training facillities.

Benedict, who graduated from LAMDA in 2000 with an MA in Classical Acting, was appointed the college’s President in 2018, taking over from fellow actor Timothy West CBE who had held the post for 31 years.

The global star meets students at the school he attended

Five years earlier in 2013, he had launched a fundraising campaign for a new building on the Talgarth Road site, which opened in spring 2017. As well as the three theatres, the Barons Court campus has ten rehearsal/training studios plus a screen and audio suite.

At the time, Benedict said: "Having trained at LAMDA, I am thrilled to have been appointed as its new President and would like to thank my predecessor, the great Timothy West for his remarkable and steadfast tenure.

" It will be an honour to watch the next generation of actors, directors and technicians blossom and grow into outstanding creative artists and theatre professionals through the exceptional training provided by LAMDA."

He has since honoured that promise by making regular visits to the college. This week Principal and CEO Mark O'Thomas published these pictures on Twitter, saying: " @LAMDAdrama’s President Benedict Cumberbatch dropped in yesterday to chat with students and catch up on all things LAMDA!"

You can find out more about Hammersmith's own world leading drama college and its regular seasons of plays at on LAMDA's web site.

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